By Sergio Martinez

 

“Sugar” Shane Mosely is back!”

 

This was a common utterance many made in 2006 when former nineties star, “Sugar” Shane Mosley destroyed another nineties icon, popular boxing warrior “El Feroz” Fernando Vargas, twice last year. After those two encounters most observers noted that Mosley, who prior to the victories was considered a fighter on the decline, looked every bit like a rejuvenated pug.

 

Shane displayed some of his “Sugar,” firing off lightning quick combinations with destructive power. Mosley found himself as a hot commodity again and now, in 2007, is looking to immediately capitalize on his current status.

 

My question is simple: is Shane Mosley’s rediscovered upper echelon status warranted?

 

My answer is, absolutely not.

 

I completely understand that for as much as the majority, me included, loves Fernando Vargas and believed in him; the bottle line is that the “La Colonia” boxing legend was a completely shot fighter at the time of his annihilation at the fists of ‘Sugar.’

 

Shane Mosley reestablishing his top fighter status against “El Feroz” is equivalent to Arturo “Thunder” Gatti’s late career rebirth through his epic three-fight series against “Irish” Mickey Ward.

 

As much as I greatly appreciated the battles between Gatti and Ward, and hold incredible respect for both gladiators; anyone who understands boxing knew that the minute Gatti stepped up the competition level, he was going to get knocked off. In my humble opinion, this logic also applies to Shane Mosely.

 

Now, I’m not saying that “Sugar” Shane is a completely shot fighter, or that he does not deserve to continue to compete in boxing. All I am referring to is Mosley’s current status of being considered his “old self” as appose to a “shadow of his former self,” which is what he actually is.

 

Despite what Bernard Hopkins has led us to believe, there really is no “Fountain of Youth” in boxing for a thirty-four-year-old fighter who is a veteran of thirty years in the game as is Shane.

 

Unlike “B-Hop,” Mosley’s success in his heyday can be mostly attributed to blinding speed and brute force. As of late, the only thing blinding about the Pomona, California star are his shiny two-thousand dollar suits. As for his brute force: other than Fernando Vargas, who has a tendency of getting stopped in fights; Shane Mosley had not knocked anyone out in over four-years.

 

Look further into his recent resume and it is easy to see that Mosley is clearly a fighter past his best days. His recent struggles with lower tier fighters like Jose Luis Cruz and David Estrada (who are tough but nowhere near top-shelf status) serve as “Exhibit A.”  Time forgives no one and Shane Mosley's time is near.

 

This coming weekend, Mosley will take his rediscovered glory into the ring when he faces New York’s tricky southpaw, Luis Collazo. This kind of fight shows that Mosley still has a profound belief in his abilities because Luis Collazo is not the type of fighter that one takes as a tune-up for bigger paydays. He is a viable, dangerous foe who is very skilled, talented and really knows how to box. Collazo is your quintessential slick southpaw who fights in a very controlled, aggressive style.

 

In Collazo, Mosley will need any speed that he still possesses to counter effectively as this will be a major factor for success. Also, at 147-pounds, “Sugar” Shane may not be strong enough to keep the New Yorker at bay as Collazo is a solid and properly proportioned welterweight who can take a punch.

 

It is going to be a tough night for Mosley and, as much as I believe this fight will be competitive, when the final bell rings, Luis Collazo will prove to be the fresher fighter. Of course, there is the fact that Mosley has surprised use before. 

 

In the end, though, no matter how things turn out out Saturday night, we are all sure to be entertained as, regardless of the fact that “Sugar” Shane Mosley is no longer on the fresher side of his career, he has never given the boxing world a bad fight.

 

Contact Sergio Martinez at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com.